The Music, Liam
by The Lonely Shephard
Summary: My first fanfic. Its not great, it won't stay small, I don't think. Jate, Skate, Chairely.
1. Chapter 1

Okay. Well, this is my first Fanfic published on FFN.. so it sucks a little bit, but whatever, right? I know I won't get any remarks saying that I'd better make the next chapter, and this is only the prolouge, after all, but be aware I will update it. If you like it, please leave a review, but I won't take flames. Rated PG-13, or whatever a little language and sex is these days.. sex, I'm not sure of, but its a safety precaution. Enjoy.

-The Lonely Shephard 3 3 3

**PROLOUGE-**

'The Music, Liam'

Claire awoke suddenly, feeling Aaron shift beside her. She opened her eyes and groaned softly, to which Aaron let out a muffled cry of complaint. "Ah, Aaron, quiet down…" She said, mostly to herself. She began to awake slowly, the sound of the water filtering in the cave alerting her that something was wrong. She rubbed her forehead, yawned, and picked Aaron up. He protested again, a whine that was barely audible. She stood up, only to see that it had rained and some had gotten in the cave. She thought of going for Charlie, but she wiped the thought from her mind, sitting back down as she remembered the fact. Charlie was dead. She buried her face in Aaron's soft baby hair and pushed back bitter tears. He didn't make a sound. She'd never see Charlie again, never. She wanted to scream, but she knew that wouldn't help, and she wanted so badly to see him one last time, to feel his skin brush her cheek in a final goodbye- but she couldn't. No, because he was already gone for good. And he hadn't even bothere to say goodbye. She shook her head. No, no, no, no. It wasn't his fault. She could remember the feeling when he'd held out her hands, seeing that she had bloodied them after a nightmare about her baby Aaron in danger. She could remember the first time she'd kissed him. "Claire?" And ah, hell, now she could think she heard him. "Claire." No. It was Jack. "Claire, are you okay?" She nodded. "I'm fine, Jack." He sat down next to her, noting how everything would be different now that Juliet had told him, that they were so much more than two people out of 40-odd others stranded on an island. "Juliet told me something she noticed from the files she has…" Claire looked puzzled. What did Jack want now? For her, all was hurt lately, all but Aaron. He was all that mattered, taking care of him, he was what she lived for. "Claire- I'm not sure how to say this, but she found out that we, ah.. we had the same dad." She didn't get it right away, she had to think hard. When she did, her eyes widened. She and Jack, they were… they were siblings. Blood related. She began to feel rather faint, and Jack steadied her with his hand. "Claire?"


	2. Chapter 2

Jack grunted and pushed the log aside, feeling his arm burning. Claire had asked for time alone, and frankly, he didn't blame her. Everything seemed new, now. He felt more responsible for Claire than ever before, but he had a reason. He had set out to pick some fruit; he held a few papayas in one arm. The arm that burned was the one that was free- he had to use it for everything else, but he didn't really care much about it. He stopped at a banana tree, looked down, set down the papayas. He was about to climb it, but a banana dropped right in front of him. Startled, he looked up, only to see a familiar face grimacing back. "Sorry." It was Kate. He didn't have much of a desire to talk to anyone right now, especially not Kate. But she didn't know. "That's okay." She shimmied down, landed beside him and picked up the banana, glancing away. "What're you doing out here?" She asked him, carefully. She could always tell when he didn't want to talk. "Same thing you are, Kate." She smiled, glancing down at his three papayas. "So I see." Conversation was useless. There was nothing he could think of to say, and she obviously was waiting for him to say something. "I'm gonna head back." She nodded, he turned away, walked away, and she followed him. He was uncomftarble, with her behind him. She didn't know what he'd seen, what he knew, and he didn't need her to know. There was an unexpected visitor, and for once, Jack was glad to see him. " Sawyer, what're you doing?" This was, Jack realized, a legitimate question. He was holding something that looked like a metal briefcase, and Jack immediately recognized it as Kate's. She seemed amused, more than angry, and for some reason, Jack had given up. "Nothin'." Jack shouldered past him, but Kate stayed where she was. Jack didn't want to hear, but he couldn't help to notice something Sawyer said- "Oh, so that's how it is? Well, if that's the deal, Freckles, I don't need you anymore. Not that I ever did. You need me more'n I need you, and you know it." He felt his heart break, but he didn't seem to care. She was happy, and he had more important things to do. At one time, he would've laughed at himself for thinking there were more important things than Kate. But she was out of reach now, and he had to let her choose which way she was going to go.


	3. Chapter 3

Back at the camp, Locke was polishing one of his many knives, intently going over it with a rag. Kate put down her backpack of fruits and sat down near him. "Where're you going?" Locke looked up, smiled, and pocketed the small knife before answering her. His voice was rough and gravelly, but she could tell he was excited: He always got excited before a hunt. "Boar huntin'. Could use an extra hand," He replied. Kate volunteered instantly, just like he knew she would. "I'll go." But someone else had their eyes on the hunting trip, and he didn't waste time speaking up. Not that he usually did. "I'll go along for the hell 'a it." Kate didn't have to look to know it was Sawyer, but she looked anyway. He did the thing with his head, the one where he tilted it and gave that insanely annoying smile, the one that always made Kate smile, too. Locke nodded, "Let's go, then." And so, they did.

They'd promptly spilt up upon entering the jungle- Sawyer and Kate stayed together, and Locke went off on his own, for his own reasons. Kate brushed a fern aside, and Sawyer, who hadn't been paying much attention, had a good slap in the face by it. "Damnit!" He exclaimed loudly. Kate, still walking, looked back, still smiling. "Pay attention." He glared at her, but she continued on, un-phased. At least, until the rustling began. It was soft, at first, and far away. Kate stopped, and Sawyer stopped behind her. "What is it?" She didn't answer. Her first guess was a boar, but she couldn't have been more wrong. She heard it before she saw it- whatever was approaching was panting. Like a dog. She peered closely at the ferns around her, and then, suddenly, the hound appeared in front of her.

It was a brownish-colored animal, a little smaller than Vincent, and obviously a mutt. She sat down and continued panting. When neither Kate nor Sawyer said anything, the dog gave a plaintive whine. Kate crouched down. "Come on, girl. Come here." The dog stood up and took a step forward, her tail lowering. Sawyer rolled his eyes, and said loudly "Oh, great. Another fleabag to waste water and food on." The dog jumped back, her eyes glittering, and Kate shot him an accusatory glare. "What?" She didn't answer right away. "Shut up!" Sawyer obliged, leaning against a tree and trying to look bored. Eventually, the dog was being covered in pats from Kate. She could tell the animal was gaining trust, and fast. But she noticed, then, that the dog had tags- no name, but the names of the owner-

KRISTEN ANDREWS

678-99-8158

Kate fingered the tag, and Sawyer, now interested, leaned down beside her. "The same Kristen, do you think, as the one on our plane?" Kate looked back at him, a little surprised. "You remember that?" Sawyer snorted. "Of course I remember it. Answer the question, Freckles." Kate shook her head, thinking for a while before answering him. "Probably. But this dog's survived on something for four months, hasn't it?" Sawyer nodded, and added, "Probably stole our boar. You gonna keep it?" Kate stood up, and the dog stared up at her, trustfully. "Seeing as her owner's dead, yeah, I guess I will." Sawyer nodded. "Whatcha' gonna name it?" Kate sighed. "I don't know, Sawyer." He grinned, standing up next to her. "How's about calling her Boar?" Kate gave him a slightly amused, mostly disgusted look, and replied, "Fine. Boar, for now, since I can't think of anything else. Let's head back; I'm sure Locke will catch something." Sawyer didn't say anything, just followed her retreating figure with the dog trailing behind, trotting behind him, almost respectably. _Damn, I could get used to this!_ Sawyer thought, smiling.


End file.
